Happy New Year from the Mayor of Preston

First of all, my Consort Dan and I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year! We look forward to a wonderful 2023 for Preston and hope for peace to prevail around the world this year. 

December was full of festive fun and yet another busy month. 

On 3 December, we got to see Santa at Intact Centre at their wonderful Winter Food Festival! What a great day for all! We held an event to raise money for the Centre along with the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity, but more on that later... 

Also on 3 December, #smallbusinesssaturday, we popped by Creations Gifts and Crafts to pick up some Christmas presents. We've got so many great shops here in Preston - there was no need to resort to online shopping for us at Christmas! 

The Santa Dash for St Catherine's Hospice, Lancashire was a lot of fun! With more than 400 Santas, it was amazingly well supported so congratulations to everyone involved! And for the record, I lapped the Mayor of South Ribble.   

On 7 December, Dan and I were treated to an amazing performance from Dance Syndrome who are doing some incredible work. They will be performing at The Lowry in Manchester this year and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, an amazing opportunity for these Prestonians to share their skills with the wider world! I look forward to seeing them again soon! 

I mentioned earlier our event to raise funds for the Mayoral charities. Well, Carols in the Chamber was a great success! A huge thank you to everyone who came along to support us - raising lots of money for Intact Centre and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity. Also, a special thank you to the choir for their outstanding performances and staff who made it happen. I am delighted to announce that we raised £627.21, so thanks to everyone who supported us.  

On 10 December, I had the great joy of watching an incredible display of Ukrainian culture. I was very pleased to hear that more than £2,000 was raised to help innocent civilians in Ukraine suffering as a result of the deplorable invasion of their country and the targeting of their energy infrastructure.  

I want to repeat my words from that night: thank you to those who have opened your hearts and your homes to Ukrainians forced to leave their homes. And to Ukrainians in Preston and the UK, you are welcome in our city for as long as you want or need to stay. 

Last month I went out in Preston city centre with Street Pastors (Preston and South Ribble). The Street Pastors do brilliant work helping those who find themselves in need. Great to hear feedback from those who had their lives changed by their help. Thanks for all you do! 

The Christmas Concert at Winckley Square was outstanding. Very festive and an amazing turnout! A huge thank you to everyone who worked so hard to ensure this could go ahead despite the ice and cold - the event has been a credit to Preston. 

I had the pleasure of commemorating the planting of a hornbeam at Avenham Park in memory of HH Pramukh Swami Maharaj. The tree will mature over many years and will be a lasting contribution to the community. 

We got to send huge congratulations to all students graduating from The University of Central Lancashire in December! Best of luck for the future - and I hope many of you will be staying here in Preston! Also, a special congratulations to TV presenter Peter Purves on becoming an honorary fellow of the university! 

It was great to see the Friends of Lancashire Infantry Museum. The museum, based at Fulwood Barracks, is an incredible place - so if your need for history can't wait until the Harris reopens, stop by! There is an amazing collection to see from centuries of history. I always enjoy visiting Lancashire Infantry Museum - and I'm a particular fan of their Napoleonic Eagle captured in the Peninsular War by one of the predecessor units of The Duke Of Lancaster's Regiment. A great place to visit, I really recommend it. 

A big thank you to everyone at Preston Black History Group for a wonderful carol service on December 16. A hugely enjoyable evening for everyone! I also want to acknowledge their hard work throughout the year bringing together the whole community with a generosity of spirit. 

Also last month, we got to visit Wander Woods Preston for a magical Christmas experience. It was very enjoyable and definitely something special. And now we are both officially honorary elves, which is an added bonus! 

Over the weekend of 19 December, we stopped by to give Santa and the elves a bit of a hand wrapping some presents at Ingol Library! Great work by Friends of Ingol Library getting ready for Santa himself who visited in the afternoon.   

It was lovely to visit St Catherine's Hospice with the Mayors of Chorley and South Ribble to see some of their great work. There are really moving stories and it is clear how life changing their work is for those in their care. The next day, we had a wonderful evening at St Catherine's Hospice's Preston city store, with Santa and Lostock Hall Memorial Brass Band - with mince pies (of course!), a raffle, and much more. I wished a Merry Christmas to the whole team and thanked them for their hard work! I even managed to get a last-minute present I needed! 

What an amazing Winter Wonderland was put on by The Foxton Centre - and a real honour to officially open the day's festivities! Great to see so many people coming out to visit Santa and his reindeer and enjoying the activities on offer. 

Thanks to everyone at The Foxton Centre for everything they do to help people across our community, not just for Christmas, but throughout the year. You do amazing work. 

It was a pleasure to be there as the Light Foundation donated Christmas presents to Royal Preston Hospital for children having to stay in the wards over Christmas. Thank you for a wonderful gift which will mean so much to these children. 

Dan and I hoped you enjoyed a merry Christmas and a big thank you to everyone who included us in your festivities over the last month!  

You can find out about my other visits on Facebook - Preston Mayor and you can also follow me on X - Preston Mayor.

There will be more detail about my engagements in my next blog so hope you'll join me again then.